Australia has the highest rate of melanoma per capita in the world with the risk of developing melanoma before the age of 75 being 1 in 24 for males and 1 in 34 for females. It is popular belief that the people most likely to be affected are those with fair skin and light hair whilst those with darker hair were safer from melanoma. However, Peter Kanetsky, Ph.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania, has identified that genetic variants in the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) could help to predict melanoma risk in people who are not usually classified as high risk. This would mean that physical appearance does not determine the chance of developing a melanoma; rather it is the coupling of physical appearance and MC1R variation.
Researchers analyzed 779 patients with melanoma from the Pigmented Lesion Clinic of the University of Pennsylvania and compared them with 325 healthy control patients. It was found that the presence of an MC1R variation increased the risk of melanoma in dark haired individuals by a factor of 2.4. However, the MC1R gene variant did not cause increased risk in blondes or redheads. This disproves the popular myth that all dark haired people were safer from melanoma. Instead it appears that only dark haired people without the MC1R gene variant are safer from melanoma.
MC1R was also associated with increased risk among those with dark eye color (3.2-fold increase), who did not freckle (8-fold increase), who tanned after repeated sun exposure (2.4 fold increase) or who tanned immediately without burning (9.5-fold increase). People with these characteristics are usually thought to be at reduced risk for melanoma, yet it can be seen that this popular myth is untrue.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090421101621.htm
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cancer/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100212403
